ANSWERS FROM DOCTORS (4)

Depends on the patient. If we're talking about spider veins generally we inject those directly.
Larger veins may also need injections of the deeper feeding branch some times with ultrasound guidance.
Michael D. Ingegno

Depends on the patient. If we're talking about spider veins generally we inject those directly.
Larger veins may also need injections of the deeper feeding branch some times with ultrasound guidance.
Michael D. Ingegno

Typically we reserve sclerotherapy for spider and reticular veins (these are usually below the surface or appear as very small varicose veins. If they are larger, I would remove them using microphlebectomy which are tiny punctures and using a fine hook. It is cosmetically pleasing and a one time procedure. If the deeper vein you mention is the saphenous vein, we would use endovenous ablation under local anesthesia where a laser fiber is inserted into the veins and sealed from within. The varicose veins, if larger, can be removed at the same setting.

Injecting larger varicose veins usually requires several treatments, may have episodes of trapped blood which need to be released and involves more trips to the office.

Typically we reserve sclerotherapy for spider and reticular veins (these are usually below the surface or appear as very small varicose veins. If they are larger, I would remove them using microphlebectomy which are tiny punctures and using a fine hook. It is cosmetically pleasing and a one time procedure. If the deeper vein you mention is the saphenous vein, we would use endovenous ablation under local anesthesia where a laser fiber is inserted into the veins and sealed from within. The varicose veins, if larger, can be removed at the same setting.

Injecting larger varicose veins usually requires several treatments, may have episodes of trapped blood which need to be released and involves more trips to the office.

Almost any vein can be treated by sclerotherapy as long as the vein is big enough to accommodate the needle. However, spider and the blue reticular veins do better with sclerotherapy than the larger varicose veins.

Almost any vein can be treated by sclerotherapy as long as the vein is big enough to accommodate the needle. However, spider and the blue reticular veins do better with sclerotherapy than the larger varicose veins.

Related Questions for Sclerotherapy

I have a lot of green veins on my legs, calves, even my arms and other parts of my body. Are those on my legs reticular veins, or could they be normal veins? They are very obvious. I never had them until my pregnancy last year. I have delivered 1 year ago.

I had 6 treatments of sclerotherappy one week apart. Much of the treatments were injecting "feeders". It's been over 2 months since my first treatment and my veins look worse. I have new quite dark veins that have popped up. What happened?

It has been 8 weeks since I had spider and 1 surface blue vein injected by vein surgeon. I still have black blue spots and the surface vein looks worse, will this correct itself or do i need more treatments/ new doc??

While pregnant with my first child I've developed a large number of spider veins on my legs/thighs. Are spider veins more prevalent during pregnancy? Do they go away after delivery? Can I get sclerotherapy while I'm pregnant?

How long does the Sclerosing agent remain in bloodstream after procedure? I had it done while breast feeding and was told to just disregard and continue. How long does sclerosing agent remain in bloodstream?

I had a sclerotherapy procedure for spider veins on lateral upper thigh just over two weeks ago at derm dr. Since that time, have noticed an approx. 1" wide area of tons of tiny new vessels just distal to injection sites. How long before this goes away?